Ethnio vs Qualtrics (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ethnio and Qualtrics share a 2.2 GPA, and only Qualtrics has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ethnio grades higher on platforms. Qualtrics grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ethnio
Participant recruiting and screeners for research teams
Qualtrics
Survey and experience research platform with a free account
Which one is for you
Pick Ethnio if
- Fits if you run a research team that recruits its own participants
- Works for teams already using Qualtrics or Zoom for sessions
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are one person: $82 a seat a month on yearly billing
- Tight if your pool passes 10,000 participants, as unlimited is Enterprise only
- Watch out: paying incentives asks for a card, even during the trial
- Skip it if you have 7 or more seats and want a posted price, as that goes to a custom quote
Pick Qualtrics if
- Fits if you are a student or researcher running a small survey
- Works for universities and large companies already licensed
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you outgrow Free, as the one published paid price is $5,040 a year
- Tight if you need more than 500 responses, 3 active surveys or 8 question types
- Watch out: custom look and feel, quotas, dashboards and the workflow engine are not in the free account
- Not for you if you want an easy price check, since other products are quoted through sales
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAEthnioFair | 2.2GPAQualtricsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$82 a seat a month on yearly billing, about four times the $19.99 middle of forms tools. Pro covers 1 to 6 seats and a larger team goes to a quote. | DStrategic Research is $420 a month billed annually, $5,040 a year, far above the category's $66 dearest-tenth line. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free trial with Pro features and no card, for 2 team members. Paying incentives asks for a card, including during the trial. | BFree account: 500 responses, 3 active surveys of up to 30 questions and 8 question types with basic logic. A student or one-off project can live on that. |
| Features | BScreeners, intercepts, panel management, scheduling, consent, incentives and an API. The listing shows no gap in recruiting work beyond the 10,000 pool cap on Pro. | BSurvey builder, templates, distribution, analysis, AI help and connected experience programs cover the whole job. Quotas, dashboards and workflows are not in the free account. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up screeners, intercepts and the panel yourself. | CNo store rating on record. A large platform with a learning curve for its reports and programs. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Slack, Zoom, Google Calendar and Microsoft Teams links and an API. No desktop or phone app. | CWeb only, and the listing names no integrations or apps. |
| Best for | recruiting people for user research | a free survey account for research and students |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ethnio and Qualtrics. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ethnio starts at $82 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Qualtrics starts at $420 a month and scores 2.3.
Ethnio scores higher and starts $338 a month lower. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Ethnio for less, and 41 score higher than Qualtrics for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ethnio also covers popups.
- Qualtrics also covers reports and dashboards.
At a glance
| Ethnio | Qualtrics | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $82 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $420 per month, billed annually ($5,040 a year) |
| Free plan | None | Free account: 500 responses, 3 active surveys of up to 30 questions each, 8 question types and basic skip, display and branch logic. |
| Free trial | Free trial with Pro features: 2 team members, 1 admin, 2 collaborators; no credit card | 30-day trial of Strategic Research |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Ethnio | Qualtrics |
| Price read from | ethn.io | qualtrics.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ethnio
- Pricing is per seat: Pro covers 1-6 seats and 7 or more seats move to a custom Enterprise quote.
- The Pro plan lists a 10,000-participant limit; an unlimited pool is Enterprise only.
- Paying incentives prompts for a credit card, including during the trial.
- SSO and third-party risk assessments are Enterprise features.
Qualtrics
- The free account stops at 500 responses, 3 active surveys and 8 question types.
- The one published paid price is $5,040 a year; other products are quoted through sales.
- Custom look and feel, quotas, dashboards and the workflow engine are not in the free account.
- Many universities hold a full license; the free-account page offers a check by .edu address.
Key features
Ethnio
- Screeners
- Screeners use conditional logic, question templates and auto-qualification, and can be sent as links or posted on social media.
- Intercepts
- Targeted intercepts recruit participants on websites, iOS apps and Android apps.
- Panel management
- Import, sync and govern a pool of participants for qualitative and quantitative studies. Pro lists a 10,000-participant pool.
- Scheduling, consent and incentives
- Automatic session scheduling, tracked participant consent, and incentive payments in any currency or country.
- AI translations and tech checks
- Screeners, emails and incentive pages can be translated into 47+ languages. Participants can record a sample video or audio check in the screener.
- Integrations and API
- Connects with Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Slack, Google Calendar, Zoom and consent-signing tools, and exposes an API and webhooks.
Qualtrics
- Survey builder and templates
- A drag-and-drop builder with 50+ templates. Paid plans offer 23 question types, branching, quotas and 20+ pre-built research solutions.
- Distribution
- Surveys go out by link, email, SMS, website, QR code or mobile app, and paid plans can draw on Qualtrics' integrated panels.
- Analysis and reporting
- Free accounts get reports; paid plans add dashboards, crosstabs, Stats iQ statistical tools, and text, sentiment and topic analysis.
- AI assistance
- A Research Agent guides study design, with AI-assisted analysis and generative summaries of video feedback on paid plans.
- Video and audio feedback
- Paid plans collect video feedback, audio feedback, video diaries, focus groups and interviews inside surveys.
- Connected experience programs
- Surveys sit in the same system as customer and employee experience data, so results can trigger actions across programs.
Plans
Ethnio
Pro$82
per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
For 1-6 seats: unlimited studies and intercepts, localization, global incentives, centralized consent, unlimited collaborators.
EnterpriseCustom
For 7+ seats: everything in Pro plus an unlimited participant pool, SSO, third-party risk assessments, multiple teams and a dedicated CSM.
Qualtrics
Free$0
500 responses, 3 active surveys with up to 30 questions each, 8 question types, 50+ templates and reports.
Strategic Research$420
per month, billed annually ($5,040 a year)
23 question types, quotas, response weighting, dashboards, Stats iQ and text analysis, and a workflow engine.
Enterprise and XM solutionsCustom
Customer, employee and market research products priced by interactions through a sales request.
Ways to pay less
Ethnio
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page toggles between monthly and annual billing and labels annual as 20% off; Pro lists $82 per seat annually and $99 monthly.
Qualtrics
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ethnio or Qualtrics?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ethnio starts at $82 per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), and Qualtrics starts at $420 per month, billed annually ($5,040 a year). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Ethnio or Qualtrics?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Qualtrics has a free plan. Ethnio does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.